Domestic Secrets

by Rosalind Noonan

Genres: African American Women's Fiction; Family Life; Women's Fiction; Suspense

Synopsis

Rachel Whalen and Ariel Alexander have been friends for more than a decade. Despite their differences--down-to-earth Rachel owns a local hair salon; Ariel is a vivacious former TV star determined to hold on to her looks--they've helped each other navigate single motherhood, banding together against the soccer moms of Timbergrove, Oregon. Yet lately, Rachel wonders about Ariel's increasingly erratic parenting and her clandestine love life. And Rachel can't reveal to anyone, even Ariel, how much she worries about her sullen, distant, younger son. When an unthinkable tragedy separates the two families, Rachel desperately tries to understand what went wrong. But as her assumptions are ripped away one by one, she must confront shattering revelations about the people she trusted and the suburban world that once seemed so safe. Rosalind Noonan explores both the bonds and the gulfs that exist between parents and children, friends and neighbors, in a suspenseful novel that is honest, intelligent, and thought provoking. Praise for Rosalind Noonan's And Then She Was Gone "Noonan writes another gripping family story that handles sensitive issues with grace. The timely plot will hold readers in its sway." -- Booklist "Rosalind Noonan has done an excellent job tackling this difficult topic…The story is both sad and uplifting, an offering of hope that will remain in the forefront of your mind long after you finish the last chapter." -- San Francisco Book Review

Release date: March 1, 2016

Publisher: Kensington Books

Print pages: 354

Sample

Praise for the novels of Rosalind Noonan

TAKE ANOTHER LOOK

"Noonan grips readers in this suspenseful novel . . . worth picking up."-RT Book Reviews

ALL SHE EVER WANTED

"Noonan has a knack for page-turners and doesn't disappoint . . . a readable tale." -Publishers Weekly

THE DAUGHTER SHE USED TO BE

"An engrossing family saga and a suspenseful legal thriller. Noonan covers a lot of narrative ground, with a large cast of characters whose situations
involve morally complex issues, as well as knotty family dynamics. This novel would fuel some great book-club discussions." -Shelf Awareness

IN A HEARTBEAT

"Complex, intriguing characters and an intensely emotional plot make In a Heartbeat compelling." -RT Book Reviews

ONE SEPTEMBER MORNING

"Written with great insight into military families and the constant struggle between supporting the troops but not the war, Noonan delivers a fast-paced,
character-driven tale with a touch of mystery." -Publishers Weekly

"Reminiscent of Jodi Picoult's kind of tale . . . it's a keeper!" -Lisa Jackson, New York Times-bestselling author

Please turn the page for more praise for Rosalind Noonan!

ONE SEPTEMBER MORNING

"Noonan creates a unique thriller that is anti−Iraq War and pro-soldier, a novel that focuses on the toll war takes on returning soldiers and civilians
whose loved ones won't be coming home." -Booklist

"Gripping and emotional, the story could not be more timely." -RT Book Club

"Carefully plotted, well-paced, and taut, this novel builds to a stunning conclusion." -The Romance Readers Connection

"This is an intense and emotional story that readers are sure to enjoy. Grab a hankie; you will need one for One September Morning." -Romance Reviews Today

Books by Rosalind Noonan

ONE SEPTEMBER MORNING

IN A HEARTBEAT

THE DAUGHTER SHE USED TO BE

ALL SHE EVER WANTED

AND THEN SHE WAS GONE

TAKE ANOTHER LOOK

DOMESTIC SECRETS

Published by Kensington Publishing Corporation

DOMESTIC SECRETS

ROSALIND NOONAN

KENSINGTON BOOKS www.kensingtonbooks.com

All copyrighted material within is Attributor Protected.

This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are products of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously. Any
resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

KENSINGTON BOOKS are published by

Kensington Publishing Corp. 119 West 40th Street New York, NY 10018

Copyright (c) 2016 by Rosalind Noonan

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any means without the prior written consent of the Publisher, excepting brief
quotes used in reviews.

Kensington and the K logo Reg. U.S. Pat. & TM Off.

ISBN: 978-1-6177-3327-7

First Kensington Electronic Edition: March 2016

ISBN-13: 978-1-61773-327-7 ISBN-10: 1-61773-327-X

Table of Contents

Praise for the novels of Rosalind Noonan Books by Rosalind Noonan Title Page Dedication Epigraph PART 1 Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Chapter 4 Chapter 5
Chapter 6 Chapter 7 Chapter 8 Chapter 9 Chapter 10 Chapter 11 Chapter 12 Chapter 13 Chapter 14 Chapter 15 Chapter 16 Chapter 17 Chapter 18 Chapter 19
Chapter 20 Chapter 21 Chapter 22

PART 2 Chapter 23 Chapter 24 Chapter 25 Chapter 26 Chapter 27 Chapter 28 Chapter 29 Chapter 30 Chapter 31 Chapter 32 Chapter 33 Chapter 34 Chapter 35
Chapter 36

Epilogue And Then She Was Gone Teaser Ominous Teaser A special Q&A with author Rosalind Noonan A READING GROUP GUIDE DISCUSSION QUESTIONS Copyright Page

In memory of Ruby, who brought us joy and unconditional love and kept our secrets

O, that this too, too sullied flesh would melt Thaw, and resolve itself into a dew!

-William Shakespeare, Hamlet, act 1, scene ii

PART 1

Chapter 1

Early May

The salon was hopping with all the music and conversation and laughter typical of a Saturday afternoon when his text came. The ambient noise was so loud
that Rachel Whalen would have missed the message if she hadn't seen the screen of her cell light up on the counter as she swept up her station.

Maternal pride and fear swelled inside her when she saw that it was from Kyle James. Her oldest son, a junior in the home stretch of spring term at Green
State, had been playing a friendly game of touch football with some friends when he'd hit his head and gotten his third concussion in eight months. The
coach had immediately responded with concerns about his ability to play football next year. His role as the team quarter-back was in jeopardy.

Rachel's pulse pinged a little faster as she opened the text. KJ had called back the coach that morning to clarify things.

Not kicking me off yet, but I think they want me to resign. I'm totally screwed. Meeting with them tomorrow. What do I do?

Her heart sank. She hadn't expected this-at least, not so soon-and she didn't have time to watch her empire crumble now. She texted back: At work. Let's
talk later. Although it hurt to blow him off, she couldn't spare the time to talk with him now, without keeping customers waiting. Even when they did talk,
there was nothing she could do to help him besides listen, and Rachel hated conceding to the unfixable. She was the fixer, dammit. But there was no easy
solution to the situation, and the consequences on both sides were significant. Poor KJ. The sin of failure settled heavily on her shoulders. A mother was
supposed to take care of her kids.

As she cleaned up her station, Rachel checked herself in the mirror-the beauty of working in a hair salon. She was having a good hair day, her
dark-chocolate hair falling in fat curls at the bottom while the side bangs flipped back from her brown eyes. That new product covered those stray grays
well. She smiled, glad that her dimples still appeared after forty-three years. "Mom's happy dots," the boys used to call them.

Her customer came out of the changing room to say good-bye, dragging Rachel back to reality.

"It's going to take a while to get used to it so short, but I love it." Mae Yang swept a hand over the back of her neck, then wrapped on a checkered scarf.
"I feel a few tons lighter."

"It suits you." Rachel wiggled her fingers in a casual wave. "And I'm putting the Memorial Day Concert on my calendar. That's so exciting. You must be
busting your buttons."

"Yeah." Calm as ever, Mae paused to check her hair in a mirror and outline one of the triangular sideburns with a fingertip. The subtle smile told Rachel
that she was pleased. They had taken off a good six inches, "lightening the load," as Mae called it. Rachel had touched up the flaming crimson and combed
Mae's red hair into a dense, wild stack atop her head. The new hairstyle seemed to represent Mae's new incarnation as a survivor, an artist, and a free
woman.

Mae had looked quite different a year ago when she had appeared at the salon door, frightened as a trapped mouse. Her long, thick hair had been greasy on
top, snarled and matted around her neck. Even Rachel had been at a loss for where to begin with it, but she had kept mum, sensing the young woman's pent-up
anxiety.

"Just take a load off, and tell me what style you're thinking of," Rachel had said gently.

Instead, Mae had told her a tale of domestic abuse, the psychological kind. While Rachel worked conditioner into knots and detangled from the bottom up, the
girl talked of a boyfriend who refused to marry her but refused to let her go. There were mornings in which Mae could no longer drag herself out of bed and
into work, and nights of waiting up for him and then cowering when he finally came home in a drunken rage. With tears streaming down her face, she had
admitted that she would leave except that she still loved him. She was sure that he loved her back. It was the booze that kept him from showing it.

"But you need to love yourself first," Rachel had said softly, seeing her own past in this broken young woman.

"God first, yourself second," Hilda had added from the next station. "But this man, he does not deserve your love. And he's not allowed to threaten you this
way. . . . This is no good."

That day, Rachel had extracted a simple promise from Mae; the girl vowed not to let her hygiene deteriorate again. It had been a small start, but as Hilda
said, "You do what you can." Mae had kept her part of the bargain, returning every two months for a haircut and a check-in. Within four months she had
gotten out of the abusive relationship and moved in with some girlfriends. After that, she had enrolled in evening classes, formed a band with some friends,
and earned a promotion at work. At this point, all of the stylists had some knowledge of her past, and they joined in to celebrate her progress.

Rachel kept quiet for a moment, savoring the ladies' love for Mae.

"Wait," Sondra said, lifting her gaze from her scissors. "You're playing here on the square for Memorial Day?"

Mae nodded, her fiery-red hair bobbing as she shared the details of her band's upcoming gigs at farmers' markets and charity events. Most of the women in
the shop were watching now, interested, promising to attend.

"Well, now you've got the right hairstyle to be a performer," Hilda said. "Very dramatic."

Mae tilted her head to one side, peering shyly from behind a lock of hair. "Thanks."

"Good luck to you, young lady," called one elderly customer, Trish Dwyer's mother, Hazel, and the group joined in a chorus of cheerful good-byes as Mae
headed out.

"Rihanna's got nothing on her!" someone commented. "She's adorable."

"Right? She's got a great energy," Rachel said. "I can't wait to see her perform." It was moments like these that kept Rachel Whalen in the game at the hair
salon she owned in the Portland suburb of Timbergrove. Rachel recognized the fact that women came to her because she was equal parts truth-teller and
ass-kicker, and she knew they came to the salon because it was one place in town where they could get what they needed. Love and advice, therapy and
transformation, all for the price of a haircut. This was how they rolled.

Her bit of euphoria was cut short when she checked the appointment book and saw that Tootsie Dover, grand dame of Timbergrove, was up next. The older woman
with a penchant for plastic surgery and wine was one of the few customers who enjoyed reminding Rachel that she worked in a service profession. After an
hour or two with Tootsie, Rachel felt like one of the scullery maids in Downton Abbey.

As usual, Tootsie was late. Rachel looked up from the appointment book, hoping to steal a minute to catch up with KJ, as Tootsie slinked in, jaw clenched
and shoulders back in that imperious stance. All that was missing was her royal scepter.

"Hey, there. How's it going?" Rachel flashed her usual smile, extending a casual greeting as she came around the reception desk and pointed Tootsie toward
her station.

"I'm so busy I hardly have time to breathe," Tootsie muttered, her puffy lips barely moving. A few years back she had gotten some sort of implants that made
her lips bulbous and swollen. For months Rachel had thought of a bad bee sting reaction whenever she'd looked at Tootsie. "I'm trying to plan a European
vacation and it's so hard to get what you want these days."

"I can imagine." Rachel did not have that problem. The last vacation she had taken was with her boys at the coast, and even there they had stayed in a
friend's cottage. "Can I get you something to drink? Coffee or tea? Wine or soda?"

As usual, Tootsie wanted wine. While Tootsie switched her blouse for a gown, Rachel poured a hefty goblet of white wine. Tootsie took the glass without
acknowledgment. You're welcome. Since when did money become an excuse for lacking manners?

With a small flourish, Rachel wrapped the cape around Tootsie. As she moved she caught a glimmer of silver in the part of her own dark hair. Damn. Time to
freshen up her own roots. Usually Ariel helped her out with that, but her friend had been busy lately, coaching kids for the spring show.

"I'm looking for a little wow factor." Tootsie tipped up her well-sculpted nose and swirled her glass of white wine as Rachel pumped the chair higher. "Can
we go blonder this time?"

Any blonder and your head is going to glow in the dark, Rachel thought, though she bit the words back. Some women wanted to hear the truth, but Tootsie
Dover was not one of them. And if Rachel Whalen had learned anything in twenty years of styling hair, it was to give the customer what she wanted.

"We can put more umber into the golden highlights," Rachel suggested. "That will give it more contrast, more shine."

"I want that instant bling thing. That sparkle and pop, you know? I want people to notice when I walk into a room."

You mean, when you stumble in, Rachel thought, pretending to ponder a strand of the woman's hair. It was the consultation, the moment when Rachel listened,
then proposed a fabulous transformation of her client's hair and, hence, life. Not everyone went for the dramatic consult. Some wanted just a trim, a color
touch-up, a little chitchat, and a couple of laughs. But Tootsie always demanded the deluxe package: flattery, ass-kissing, and a magical transformation.

"I have some product with gold sparkles in it."

The plump lips curled into a beak that reminded Rachel of Donald Duck's. "I want that. Pour it on."

"And we can finish with a Brazilian blowout."

One of Tootsie's painted brows arched as she sipped the wine. "Mmm. What the hell is that?"

"A deep conditioning treatment we use after the color. It adds a layer of protective protein that gives your hair a smooth, healthy sheen. Lasts for weeks,
and it'll bring out that golden-honey glow in your hair."

"Yes, yes. Do that, too."

"Perfect." Ka-ching, ka-ching. Rachel tabulated the rising profit on Tootsie's hair treatment as she started to mix the product in plastic containers. Right
now Rachel really needed the money. She was a single parent operating her own business, and every month she seemed to come up short. With Jared heading off
to college in September, she spent many late nights staring at the computer screen showing her online bank accounts and wondering how she was going to sew
together the budget holes. And that was before she'd learned KJ's scholarship was in jeopardy. On the other hand, Tootsie Dover, heir to the Dover Pumpworks
fortune, had money to burn. All was fair in love and commerce.

As Rachel applied color to layers of hair separated by waxed papers, Tootsie nattered on about her latest renovation, her newest car, her royal treatment at
the country club, her wunderkind Cooper.

"He's made his final choice," Tootsie said. "Winchester College, down in California. Maybe you've heard of it?"

"I know it well. That's a great school." Rachel brushed the pale muck of dye into the roots of Tootsie's hair as she pictured the college with its low-slung
adobe buildings, mosaic-tiled artwork, swimming pools, and lawns bordered by tall palm trees. It had been the first choice of her younger son, Jared, who
had been accepted, but not offered a scholarship.

"Did you hear that Cooper's been given a football scholarship? A full ride," Tootsie tossed in, toasting Rachel with the wineglass.

"Fabulous," Rachel gushed, though inside she was seething. That scholarship was wasted on a wealthy family like the Dovers, who had the money to send their
son to Stanford and build him his own dormitory, too. But Rachel had kept her mouth shut. Maybe she'd sounded just as greedy when KJ has gotten his football
scholarship to Green State two years ago. Had she actually bragged about it back then?

Well . . . maybe.

"Of course, I told him he doesn't have to play football, but he just loves it."

So does KJ.

"And I must admit, it's nice having a celebrity in the family. Have you been at the high school games when they chant Cooper's name?"

"I have." Back in October, Rachel and Ariel had attended the homecoming game. In a town the size of Timbergrove, a Friday night football game was quite the
social event, with tailgate parties, marching bands, cheerleaders, and helicopters hovering overhead for TV coverage. Although it had been a fun, cheap
night out, Rachel could not say she enjoyed hearing the crowd chant the name of their current quarterback. It had reminded her too much of her own son's
ride to glory two years earlier, when the roar of fans had rumbled through the bleachers.

"KJ!" Clap, clap. "KJ!" Clap, clap. "KJ!"

At first KJ had asked people to stop chanting his name, explaining that he was no hero, that the entire team deserved a rally cry. But no one listened or
cared. The chant was intoxicating and contagious.

"KJ!" Clap, clap. "KJ!"

For a seventeen-year-old kid who had grown up playing tackle football since he was five, the cheering fans were part of the thrill of football. KJ had
admitted that, even as he'd tried to stay modest and focused, keeping his head in the game. "Football is my life," he'd told her, and Rachel had been so
pleased and proud that her son had found a good, solid foundation in his life.

A foundation on the verge of crumbling.

Snapping herself back to the conversation, Rachel was relieved to find that the topic had changed to prom.

"Cooper is going with his girlfriend, and I've got to tell you, it's not cheap. I was going to book the limo, but then Cooper told me they needed a party
bus. An entire bus? Can you imagine? Cost me a damned fortune, but I don't care." Tootsie was nearly growling now, her voice low as a sleepy tiger's.

"Usually the guys chip in for that," Rachel said. "I bet you'll get reimbursed for most of it."

"I don't care. I don't need the money. Not as long as my boy's happy, and he's happy as a pig in shit these days. Absolute shit."

Rachel was aware that her client was beginning to sour, typical of the degeneration during Tootsie's visits. She shot a look over to the next station, where
Hilda was blowing out a young, pink-faced woman in the chair. A new mom who had left the baby with her mother to get a haircut, Irene had her eyes closed in
meditation, and the noise of the dryer probably drowned out Tootsie's nastiness.

"Cooper's got a girlfriend." Tootsie let out a dry cackle. "A regular screw, is what my husband calls it."

"Come on, Toots. That's no way to talk about a seventeen-year-old girl." Especially a girl who's like a daughter to me.

"He's joking. I think you know the girl. Remy . . . something or other. Indian girl."

"Native American," Rachel corrected, despising Tootsie for the not-so-subtle put-down. "Remy is a doll. But then, her mom is my best friend in the world, so
I'm a little prejudiced."

"Well, she'd better be worth it, because I'm sinking a boatload of money into her. We're taking her on our family vacation this summer. Five weeks in
Europe. England, France, Spain, and Italy. And some of those small countries that no one knows the names of."

"Sounds like a dream vacation," Rachel said. The chance for Remy to see Europe was the only bright light in Tootsie's brag. Rachel had known Remy and her
sister, Cassie, since the girls were preschoolers. Many a summer day Ariel's girls had splashed around in the kiddie pool with Rachel's boys, and throughout
the years there had been countless camping trips and sledding and hikes and picnics that drew their two families together. Rachel had always hoped that one
of Ariel's girls would end up with either KJ or Jared, but you couldn't make that sort of thing happen.

"I've never been to Europe," Rachel said. "What's your favorite spot there? Like, if you could only go to one place."

"I don't know. A bunch of tourist traps, if you ask me. It was Cooper's pick, and it's his graduation trip. But first we have to get through graduation and
prom." Tootsie finished her goblet of wine, leaving her lips moist and drooping open. "Who's your boy taking to prom? You have a senior, right?"

Rachel nodded, taken aback by Tootsie's sudden interest. In all the years that she had cut Tootsie's hair, she'd rarely fielded a personal question from the
maven of mean. "Jared." Honestly, how could Tootsie not know his name? He was in Gleetime with Cooper. "I'm not sure he's going to prom."

"No girlfriend?"

"I'm just not sure he's interested in all the hoopla of prom."

"That's right, he's in theater. That type."

"He's in theater, but he likes girls." Rachel had blurted it out before she could stop herself, but she was not going to let the likes of Tootsie Dover
start rumors about her son.

Tootsie covered her wet lips as she snorted, a lame attempt at a laugh. "Now don't go getting all defensive, Mom. I just know that theater crowd answers to
a different drummer. Bohemian types."

"Right," Rachel said flatly, glad that she was finished applying the color. She couldn't stomach much more of Tootsie Dover. "You're good for now. Let's
give the color twenty or thirty minutes to set."

"And I'll take another glass of wine while I'm waiting."

"Okay." Rachel took the goblet into the kitchen and poured another glass of wine cut with water.

"Oh, my God, are you watering that down?" Tiffani rolled her eyes. "That's hysterical."

Rachel didn't find it funny at all. "It's called limiting your liability. This client has a history of DUI." She couldn't bear to think that she might be
contributing to Tootsie's intoxication, especially since the woman would slither out of here and slide behind the wheel of the big-ass SUV that had replaced
the Mercedes she had totaled a few years ago when she'd slammed into a parked car. Fortunately, no one had been injured in the crash.

"Yeah, well, she needs to own up, be responsible for herself," Tiffani said, running the zipper on her black leather vest up and down. At twenty-four,
Tiffani Delgado was the youngest stylist, and she still held tight to that know-it-all smugness of youth.

"In a perfect world, she would," Rachel agreed.

"You know . . ." Tiffani hoisted herself onto the counter, the butt of her jeans inches from a platter of cookies ready to go out front. "We should stop
serving the wine and get a latte machine. That would get more young people in here. It's only the old ladies who drink that cheap wine."

"Maybe next year. Unless you want to buy the machine, and operate it. For now, if people want fancy coffees, they can go to the cafe two doors down. Now
take those cookies out to the waiting area, please. Thank you."

Striding from the kitchen with the goblet held high as a gauntlet, Rachel contemplated telling Tootsie about Jared's new girlfriend. How she would love to
rub that hot news in, grind her heel over it.

But it was too early, premature news. Rachel didn't even know who the girl was, only that she existed. And they were involved. Sexually involved. The
disappearing condoms and his dirty laundry didn't lie. Granted, it had been a sporadic thing over the past few months, but whatever the circumstances,
Rachel was thrilled.

Rachel handed over the wine along with three recent People magazines, then turned away and chuckled to herself as she took her pots of dye to the sink for
rinsing. Some mothers of teens would have been horrified to learn that their kid was having sex. She sort of got that. But since it was such a natural,
healthy part of life, she was glad to know her seventeen-year-old son had finally jumped that hurdle. She knew that Jared had longed for a girlfriend since
junior high, when he had confided in his cocky older brother for advice. That hadn't gone so well. One afternoon Rachel had overheard KJ laughing at his
brother for using Oreo cookies as an entree to conversation. "Really?" KJ had scoffed. "You couldn't think of anything better than sharing your cookies?"

Sweet, kind Jared. He wasn't confident and popular like his brother, and he was not a star athlete. After a few frightening bullying incidents during junior
varsity football he had dropped out of sports and fallen into a geeky group of male friends who spent weekends doing online gaming and probably smoking
weed. That part she couldn't be sure of, as the get-togethers rarely happened at their tiny house. But Jared kept his grades up and sparkled onstage, so
Rachel never found any reason to complain.

He was still as uncommunicative as ever-typical teenage boy-but his confidence had risen and just the other day she'd caught him smiling for no reason.
Whoever she was, that girl had put her son in a perennial good mood. Oh, he had a girlfriend, all right, and Rachel was tickled pink.

Jared had even started talking about going to college in nearby Portland next year, wanting to be close to home. Rachel didn't want to pressure him to do
that, but secretly she was jumping for joy at the prospect of having one of her boys nearby for the occasional lunch or dinner. And he could come home to do
laundry. It would help her stave off the empty nest for a while.

She cleaned up the sink, then went to the desk to spell their receptionist, Kit, who wanted to run out for a slice.

While she was going through her appointment book, three girls, all bright eyes and long hair, came into the shop and made their way to the desk.

"We need appointments for prom," said the tallest, a brunette. "The last week in May?"

"Timbergrove?" When the girls nodded, Rachel leafed through the book and added, "My son is a senior there. Jared Whalen?"

"Oh. Jared's my friend," said the medium-sized girl. She had cinnamon-colored hair that fell in curls around her face, and green eyes that reminded Rachel
of a summer lake.

Could she be the one? Jared's secret girlfriend?

"He draws me pictures in AP Stats."

Rachel smiled, careful not to overplay her enthusiasm. Her sons had taught her that teens did not go for the zip-a-dee-doo-dah parents. "I don't know how
you kids survive those math classes." She scheduled appointments for the three girls, making a note of the cinnamon girl's name, Aubrey Sweeney.

Probably not Jared's girl, she thought as the teens left the shop. Really, what were the chances of that? Still, she thanked God for Jared's mystery girl.

She was left wondering if Jared was planning to go to prom with his new girlfriend. He had never attended a school dance; he didn't know all the steps and
rituals. What would they need to plan in advance? Transportation. Well, if they were sharing a limo, arrangements would have to be made, as limo services
booked up months before prom. On the other hand, Jared could drive his own rust bucket, or else borrow Rachel's car.

Of course, Rachel could trim his hair, but he would need to rent a tux. And flowers. No problem. Rachel had a client who worked at the florist on Maple
Street. Wendy would cut her a deal.

Maybe she was getting ahead of herself, but she would need to press Jared for an answer, since he was turning eighteen the day before prom. If he wasn't
going to the dance, he definitely deserved a bit of private celebration.

The image of her son's smiling face lifted Rachel's mood as she answered the phone and booked a few appointments for the other gals. Prom or no prom, this
girl made Jared happy. And with time, KJ would find his moral center again, life beyond football. Everything was going to be just fine.

Chapter 2

Just across the square, in the small bridal shop called Stardust Dreams, nineteen-year-old Cassie Alexander sat on the large, puffy, white leather bench
shaped like a flat mushroom, waiting for her sister to try on gowns. Although prom was more than a month away, the search for dresses was on.

"Can I get you something?" asked the clerk, a brutally thin woman with big square teeth that reminded Cassie of a documentary she had seen on herbivores.
"Some water or tea?"

"No, thanks." Cassie knew she didn't deserve a drink when they wouldn't be buying any of these pricey dresses. And she could feel the clerk's disapproval,
which was typical. Women in their forties who worked in shops usually expected only one thing of young shoppers in their teens and early twenties:
shoplifting. Of course, Cassie would never, ever, and she wouldn't allow Remy to go there, either. But the whole dynamic made shopping really suck. Looking
down, she picked at the peeling cuticle on her thumb and willed the woman to go away.

It didn't work, because the woman walked past her and tapped gently on the louvered dressing room door. "How's it going in there? Can I give you a hand with
something?"

Like what? Tuck in bra straps or labels? Cassie squinted up at the woman. What moron couldn't dress herself?

"I'm fine," Remy answered.

"My name is Shanna if you need me."

Cassie felt her level of annoyance ease as Shanna whisked herself out of the dressing room to the front of the store. "Let's get out of here," Cassie told
her sister. "You know these dresses are too expensive, and that Shanna sucks the air out of the room."

"She's just doing her job." The door popped open and Remy lifted a hand, draping herself in the stall doorway. "This is the perfect dress." The dress was a
striation of color, moving from emerald to a vivid moss green; it complimented Remy's golden-brown skin and dark hair. Remy did a runway turn to show the
back of the dress, then faced the mirrored wall and took a selfie. "I'm feelin' this one, Cass."

"It's nice," Cassie conceded, moving into Remy's mirror shot to check the price. "Three seventy-five." She dropped the tag as if it burned her hand. "Not
gonna happen."

Remy didn't seem to hear. She moved away, twirling, so that the hem of the gown billowed open like an upside-down tulip. A rare green tulip. "But I love
this one." Her voice was soft and joyous, so in the moment.

Cassie could think of a million responses: You can't love an inanimate object. You'll only be weari